Hantavirus-Ausbruch auf der MV Hondius

Index case. Adult Dutch male ~70. Husband of HON-002. Onset 6 Apr 2026 with fever, headache, mild diarrhoea on board; developed respiratory distress and died on board 11 Apr 2026. No microbiological tests performed; cause of death not laboratory-confirmed. Body removed from vessel to Saint Helena 24 Apr 2026. Couple had travelled in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding 1 Apr; Argentine investigation focuses on Ushuaia bird-watching trip. Note 8 May: Tierra del Fuego epidemiology director states exposure in Ushuaia is 'almost zero' likely; investigation now favours Chubut/Río Negro/Neuquén.

Wife of HON-001. Disembarked at Saint Helena 24 Apr 2026 with gastrointestinal symptoms. Boarded Airlink flight 4Z132 St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 Apr; deteriorated during flight. Briefly boarded KLM flight KL592 Johannesburg to Amsterdam on 25 Apr (~45 min) but removed before takeoff due to medical condition; collapsed at O.R. Tambo airport. Died on arrival at hospital in Kempton Park area on 26 Apr 2026. PCR-confirmed (Andes virus) by NICD South Africa, announced 4 May 2026.

Adult British male reported to be ~69. Role contested: BBC identified him as ship's doctor; Guardian and Spanish Health Ministry describe him as expedition guide/passenger. Presented to ship's doctor on 24 Apr with febrile illness, shortness of breath and pneumonia signs; condition worsened 26 Apr. Medically evacuated from Ascension Island to private facility in Sandton, Johannesburg on 27 Apr 2026. PCR-confirmed by NICD on 2 May 2026 (Andes virus). UPDATE 8 May: Remains in ICU, critical but stable; no change in condition reported.

Adult German female. Onset of symptoms 28 Apr 2026 (fever, malaise) with rapid progression to pneumonia; died on board MV Hondius on 2 May 2026. UPDATE 8 May: Body remains on board pending Tenerife arrival (~10 May); WHO coordinating with Oceanwide for safe storage and transport of remains. Cause of death still officially under investigation; not PCR-confirmed for hantavirus as of 8 May. ECDC TAB classifies her as case 4 — suspected.

Martin Anstee, 56, British national. Identified by The Guardian and NL Times as an expedition guide / former police officer. Symptomatic (fever, fatigue, GI symptoms, shortness of breath). Evacuated by air ambulance from Cape Verde on 6 May 2026; admitted to Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). PCR-confirmed positive for Andes virus (RIVM-confirmed at LUMC, reported 7 May 2026). UPDATE 8 May: Condition stable; Anstee told Sky News he was 'feeling OK'; in isolation on infectious-diseases ward at LUMC.

65-year-old German woman. Asymptomatic at evacuation; described as a contact of HON-004. Evacuated 6 May 2026 from Cape Verde; transferred to Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf (UKD) isolation ward (one of seven Sonderisolierstationen in Germany). Samples sent to RKI Konsiliarlabor für Hantaviren for Andes virus PCR/serology. UPDATE 8 May: UKD reports 'no hantavirus detected' on initial laboratory testing; remains clinically stable and asymptomatic. Dr. Torsten Feldt (UKD head of tropical medicine): 'We cannot say she is not infected. We have not detected virus.' Isolation continues; incubation period can extend to 8 weeks; RKI reflex testing ongoing.

41-year-old Dutch national, crew member; per The Guardian and Spanish Health Ministry, this is the ship's doctor. Acutely symptomatic on board. Evacuated 6 May by second air ambulance which diverted to Gran Canaria due to electrical fault on the patient's life-support system; arrived at Schiphol morning of 7 May 2026 and admitted to Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen. UPDATE 8 May: Radboudumc/RIVM confirmed PCR-positive for hantavirus (Andes virus); standard infection-control in place; hospital stated 'no risk to other patients or visitors.' Brings WHO confirmed total to 5.

Adult Swiss male passenger. Disembarked at Saint Helena 24 Apr 2026; returned to Switzerland end of April. Responded to Oceanwide email alerting passengers; contacted GP and presented to University Hospital Zurich (USZ) where he was immediately isolated. Reference laboratory at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) confirmed Andes virus. Announced by Swiss FOPH/BAG on 6 May 2026. Reported stable on 6 May with low fever, body aches, cough. Wife asymptomatic, self-isolating as precaution. No new update 8 May.

67-year-old Singapore citizen male. Disembarked early from Hondius; on Airlink flight 4Z132 St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 Apr (same flight as HON-002). Arrived in Singapore 2 May 2026. Isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Had a runny nose but otherwise well. Notified to Singapore CDA on 4 May 2026. UPDATE 8 May: Tested negative for hantavirus (including Andes virus) on multiple samples per Singapore CDA. Remains in quarantine for 30 days from last exposure with retest before release; 45-day total monitoring period.

65-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident male. Disembarked early from Hondius; on Airlink flight 4Z132 St Helena to Johannesburg on 25 Apr (same flight as HON-002). Arrived in Singapore 6 May 2026. Isolated at NCID. Asymptomatic at time of testing. Notified to Singapore CDA on 5 May 2026. UPDATE 8 May: Tested negative for hantavirus (including Andes virus) on multiple samples per Singapore CDA. Remains in quarantine for 30 days from last exposure with retest before release; 45-day total monitoring period.

KLM flight attendant from Haarlem who worked KLM flight KL592 Johannesburg to Amsterdam on 25 Apr 2026. Developed mild symptoms; admitted to Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC) in isolation on 7 May 2026. UPDATE 8 May: WHO DG Tedros confirmed PCR and serology both negative for Andes/hantavirus. Status: ruled out. Tedros caveat: 'the incubation period is long and although she is negative for now, she might turn positive in the future' — remains under monitoring. Two other symptomatic KL592 passengers also tested negative on 7 May. Identified by GGD Kennemerland among 5 high-risk contacts on KL592.

Third British national reported by UKHSA on 8 May 2026 as a suspected hantavirus case on Tristan da Cunha (where MV Hondius docked 13–15 Apr 2026). UKHSA and UK Minister for Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty formally describe patient as a British male islander, hospitalised on Tristan da Cunha. Spouse isolating. PCR result NOT yet available — Tristan has very limited diagnostic capacity; samples must be transported off-island. UK MoD delivered PCR diagnostic supplies to Ascension Island via military plane on 7 May to support testing.

32-year-old Spanish woman resident in Alicante. Seated two rows behind HON-002 on KLM flight KL592 (Johannesburg to Amsterdam, 25 Apr 2026; ~45-minute boarding period before HON-002 was removed at gate). Symptoms: cough and general malaise. Transferred to negative-pressure isolation room at a hospital in Alicante province. PCR sample sent to Centro Nacional de Microbiología (ISCIII, Majadahonda); results expected within 24–48 hours. Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla described it as 'a pretty unlikely case.'

One French national identified by the French Ministère de la Santé as a close contact of HON-002 on the 25 Apr 2026 Airlink flight Saint Helena to Johannesburg. In isolation in France with diagnostic tests under way. Single individually-identifiable contact among 8 French nationals. UPDATE 8 May: Earlier reports of mild symptoms appear to have been a translation error per Gizmodo/WHO press office correction (7 May); French officials now describe all 8 as monitored contact cases only. No confirmed Hondius-related infection in France as of 8 May.

2026-05-08